TPCi Has Been Expanding Number of Pokemon TCG Vending Machines in U.S.

By: Water Pokémon Master · Posted Posted onOct 5, 2023 at 12:04 PM · 14 Comments

Since June of this year, TPCi has nearly tripled the number of its Pokemon TCG vending machines in the United States.

There are now almost 120 active machines. In June, there were only 45. The number of them has fluctuated over the years, with the previous max being around 65 in April 2020, from what we can discern from records.

A limited number of these machines first began to appear in 2017 at malls near TPCi’s headquarters in Washington state. Since then, they’ve expanded to Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas.

These machines exclusively offer Pokemon TCG merchandise. They are also an effective means of controlling theft. Unfortunately, it does not appear the machines have limits on how many items a customer can buy, as we’ve seen reports of scalpers clearing them out.

Here are their current locations as of October 2023:

Washington

Retailer Machine ID Address City, State
Fred Meyer Q00164 801 Auburn Way N Auburn, WA
QFC Q00171 3550 Factoria Blvd SE Bellevue, WA
Fred Meyer Q00143 20901 Highway 410 Bonney Lake, WA
Fred Meyer Q00016  21045 Bothell Everett Hwy Bothell, WA
Safeway Q00026  24040 Bothell Everett Hwy Bothell, WA
Fred Meyer Q00124 14300 1St Ave S Burien, WA
Fred Meyer Q00173 16735 Se 272Nd St Covington, WA
Fred Meyer Q00035 8530 Evergreen Way Everett, WA
Fred Meyer Q00129 12906 Bothell Everett Hwy Everett, WA
Fred Meyer Q00037 33702 21st Ave SW Federal Way, WA
H Mart Q00117 31217 Pacific Hwy S Federal Way, WA
Safeway Q00125 735 N W Gilman Blvd Issaquah, WA
Fred Meyer Q00039 6100 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE Issaquah, WA
Fred Meyer Q00158 25250 Pacific Hwy S Kent, WA
Fred Meyer Q00175 10201 SE 240Th St Kent, WA
Safeway Q00012 10020 NE 137th St Kirkland, WA
Fred Meyer Q00014 12221 120th Ave NE Kirkland, WA
H Mart Q00130 3301 184th St SW Lynnwood, WA
Fred Meyer Q00165 4615 196th St SW Ste 175 Lynnwood, WA
Fred Meyer Q00174 2902 164th St SW Lynnwood, WA
Fred Meyer Q00111 26520 Maple Valley Black Diamond Rd SE Maple Valley, WA
Fred Meyer Q00142 9925 State Ave Marysville, WA
Fred Meyer Q00148 18805 State Route 2 Monroe, WA
Safeway Q00259 4301 212th Street SW Mountlake Terrace, WA
Fred Meyer Q00131 17404 Meridian E Puyallup, WA
Safeway Q00178 5616 176th St E Puyallup, WA
Fred Meyer Q00147 1100 N Meridian Puyallup, WA
Fred Meyer Q00022 17667 NE 76th St Redmond, WA
QFC Q00106 8867 161st Ave NE Redmond, WA
Fred Meyer Q00034  365 Renton Center Way SW Renton, WA
Safeway Q00025 4300 NE 4th Renton, WA
Fred Meyer Q00176 17801 108Th Ave SE Renton, WA
Safeway Q00254 4011 S 164th St SeaTac, WA
Southcenter Mall Q00027 2800 Southcenter Mall Seattle, WA
Fred Meyer Q00038 18325 Aurora Ave N Seattle, WA
Fred Meyer Q00135 13000 Lake City Way NE Seattle, WA
Fred Meyer Q00116 915 NW 45th St Seattle, WA
Safeway Q00256 3900 S Othello St Seattle, WA
Safeway Q00159 1410 E John St Seattle, WA
Safeway Q00257 15332 Aurora Ave N Shoreline, WA
Fred Meyer Q00136 1201 Valley Ave E Sumner, WA
Tacoma Mall Q00031  4502 S Steel Street Tacoma, WA
Fred Meyer Q00161 4505 S 19th St Tacoma, WA
Fred Meyer Q00152 7250 Pacific Ave , Tacoma Tacoma, WA
Safeway Q00127 2411 North Proctor Tacoma, WA
Safeway Q00181 1302 S 38th Tacoma, WA
Safeway Q00121 6700 NE 162nd Ave Suite 500 Vancouver, WA
Safeway Q00144 6711 NE 63rd St Vancouver, WA
Fred Meyer Q00261 7411 NE 117Th Ave Vancouver, WA
Fred Meyer Q00218 11325 SE Mill Plain Blvd Vancouver, WA
Fred Meyer Q00157 16600 SE Mcgillivray Blvd Vancouver, WA
Fred Meyer Q00139 16600 SE Mcgillivray Blvd Vancouver, WA
Safeway Q00214 408 NE 81st St Vancouver, WA
Safeway Q00207 2615 NE 112th Ave Vancouver, WA
Safeway Q00217 6701 E Mill Plain Blvd Vancouver, WA

Oregon

Retailer Machine ID Address City, State
Fred Meyer Q00138 11425 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy Beaverton, OR 
Safeway Q00205 6194 Sw Murray Boulevard Beaverton, OR 
Fred Meyer Q00151 1401 SE 1St Ave Canby, OR
Fred Meyer Q00150 16301 SE 82nd Dr Clackamas, OR
Safeway Q00204 12032 SE Sunnyside Rd Clackamas, OR
Fred Meyer Q00156 6495 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy Hillsboro, OR
Safeway Q00137 14840 SE Webster Rd Milwaukie, OR
Fred Meyer Q00141 1839 Molalla Ave Oregon City, OR
Fred Meyer Q00145 14700 SE Division St Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00133 3805 SE Hawthorne Blvd Portland, OR
Safeway Q00119 13485 NW Cornell Rd Portland, OR
Safeway Q00120 4515 SE Woodstock Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00113 1111 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00153 3030 NE Weidler St Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00154 6850 N Lombard St Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00149 11565 SW Pacific Hwy Portland, OR
Safeway Q00211 6901 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR
Safeway Q00258 3527 SE 122nd Ave Portland, OR
Safeway Q00215 5920 NE Martin Luther King Blvd Portland, OR
Fred Meyer Q00162 7404 N Interstate Ave Tigard, OR
Fred Meyer Q00123 19200 SW Martinazzi Ave Tulatin, OR
Fred Meyer Q00163 30300 Sw Boones Ferry Rd Wilsonville, OR

Colorado

Retailer Machine ID Address City, State
King Soopers Q00265 12350 W 64Th Ave Arvada, CO
King Soopers Q00276 8031 Wadsworth Blvd Arvada, CO
King Soopers Q00107 3050 South Peoria St Aurora, CO
King Soopers Q00273 15250 E Mississippi Ave Aurora, CO
King Soopers Q00284 655 Peoria St Aurora, CO
King Soopers Q00286 6760 S Pierce St Littleton Columbine, CO
King Soopers Q00285 7575 S University Blvd Centennial Centennial, CO
King Soopers Q00103 3100 S Sheridan Blvd Denver, CO
King Soopers Q00287 825 S Colorado Blvd Denver, CO
King Soopers Q00277 6470 E Hampden Ave Denver, CO
King Soopers Q00270 1575 W 84Th Ave Federal Heights, CO
King Soopers Q00108 2205 W Wildcat Reserve Pkwy Highlands Ranch, CO
King Soopers Q00274 8673 S Quebec St Highlands Ranch, CO
King Soopers Q00110 7984 W Alameda Ave Lakewood, CO 
King Soopers Q00278 1555 Quail St Lakewood, CO 
King Soopers Q00266 1927 S Wadsworth Blvd Lakewood, CO 
King Soopers Q00101 11747 W Ken Caryl Ave Littleton, CO 
King Soopers Q00102 8126 S Wadsworth Blvd Littleton, CO 
King Soopers Q00279 100 West Littleton Blvd Littleton, CO 
King Soopers Q00105 17761 Cottonwood Dr Parker, CO 
King Soopers Q00109 17031 Lincoln Ave Parker, CO

Arizona

Retailer Machine ID Address City, State
Frys Q00351 1575 N Dysart Rd Avondale, AZ
Frys Q00358 25401 N Lake Pleasant Pkwy Peoria, AZ
Frys Q00361 4230 W Mcdowell Rd Phoenix, AZ
Frys Q00349 4025 E Thunderbird Rd Phoenix, AZ
Frys Q00318 3616 E Ray Rd Phoenix, AZ
Frys Q00361 1815 W Glendale Ave Phoenix, AZ
Frys Q00337 520 E Baseline Rd Phoenix, AZ
Frys Q00354 10660 NW Grand Ave Sun City, AZ
Frys Q00345 13982 W Waddell Rd Surprise, AZ
Frys Q00355 16400 W Pat Tilman BLVD Surprise, AZ
Frys Q00344 15215 N Cotton Ln Surprise, AZ
Frys Q00334 1835 E Guadalupe Rd Tempe, AZ

Texas

Retailer Machine ID Address City, State
Kroger Q00309 1801 S Voss Rd Houston, TX
Kroger Q00308 13133 Veterans Memorial Dr Houston, TX
Kroger Q00298 12434 State Highway 249 Houston, TX
Kroger Q00291 3550 Spencer HWY Pasadena, TX
Kroger Q00290 2619 Red Bluff Rd Pasadena, TX
Kroger Q00307 11003 Shadow Creek Pkwy Pearland, TX
Kroger Q00306 6060 FM 2920 Rd Spring, TX
View thread (14 replies)
Ambassador said:
Always found these weird but this is a good point. I imagine this is the primary motivation for them..?


why would I want to support a gang of price gaugers? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Click to expand...
Mine is a good one, their prices are reasonable compared to what most people are asking. The gotta make a profit, they're trapped in the same capitalist nightmare we all are

Also reprint Vending series
 
Nintenfreak said:
Mine is a good one, their prices are reasonable compared to what most people are asking. The gotta make a profit, they're trapped in the same capitalist nightmare we all are

Also reprint Vending series
Click to expand...
The actual vendors themselves sell the product to the shops for lower than retail. The shops make the actual prices after that. So if it's increased its 100% on the shop for wanting to scalp it up.
 
Nintenfreak said:
.. That's where retailers make their profit
Click to expand...
Actually an official retailer such as Walmart holds it at suggested retail. As I said, the vendors sell the products to the retailers for well below retail because they buy in large quantities. Their profit margins come from that purchase at a lower rate to what the retail price is. If it's any more than suggested retail they're marking it up purposely.
 
Ambassador said:
why would I want to support a gang of price gaugers? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Click to expand...
It's frustrating honestly, I try to support my locals but they keep using gamestop/ebgames as the benchmark of what counts as good price. EB games selling this booster box for $280 NZD? Well, we can sell ours at a "discount" of $239.99. Meanwhile, via other means, you can get them as low as $204.
 
Feel like it would be hella easy to just break and rob it’s goods.
Might have to install high security on it so that could possibly deter stores to install, as it can increase the volume of crime
 
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Nintenfreak said:
Okay then buy cards directly from TPCi? Like ain't a huge fan of greed personally, but I kind of want my local game store to be able to pay their rent and employees
Click to expand...
What I would like is more transparency on margins. Because you are right, rent and salaries play into product price; but, we just don't know by how much. It's like with my recent pre-order for the classic tcg; I eventually placed a pre-order based on dollar conversions, shipping and discounts, and landed on a palatable number. When comparing with the other 5 local options I had, the difference was anywhere from $10 NZD to $200 NZD.

So yeah, transparency would be a great thing in this industry,
 
Ambassador said:
When I see the owner of my Local Game Store clear out the entire stock of this hypothetical $3 Pokémon TCG product, and then sell it for $6 a piece, they are selling above MSRP. TPCI still only made $1, and Walmart also still only made $1, but the local game store sees fit to make $3 despite having provided nothing of value to me, the end customer.
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This is such an insanely short-sighted take, not to mention you're painting every LGS with a broad brush because you seemingly have one bad one near you. How does an LGS provide "nothing of value", they are THE PLACE people go to play the game and engage with their local communities. Your comment about MSRP is also laughable; if you want to be buying booster boxes for $160 from Walmart or the Pokemon Center website then be my guest, you certainly won't be paying that much at any reputable LGS though. What makes it even funnier is that stores like Walmart and Target price gouge significantly more than any LGS I've ever been to, at least in this area. I've seen brand new tins selling for 40 USD at Target.
 
These machines are convenient and all but I constantly see scalpers clean them out, sometimes before the merchandiser has even left. Granted they're usually only after the 50 or so Evolving Skies booster packs they put in them. If TPCI keeps printing high volumes of newer product then this issue should hopefully go away as well.
 
only mildly peeved that all the texas locations are Houston suburbs, but honestly that's not a bad side distraction next time there's a convention worth going to over there XD
 
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